Not just the horizontal mambo
by procrastinationsensation
Summary: Meredith keeps having the dream where Derek dies. What does he do when he learns about it? Concurrent with season premiere


_This is kind of parallel to the season premiere /what is going on now, for season 5. I know I kind of switch back and forth between first names, Dr. and last names but I go with what feels more appropriate._

Dr. Webber looks at Meredith sadly. "Meredith, come on, why don't you come sit down."

"No, he can't!" Meredith cut him off, "He can't leave me! Derek!! NO!!"

Mark comes out of the room, distraught over the loss of his best and oldest friend. Seeing Meredith his heart breaks a little bit more, and he must choose whether to wallow in his own grief of help her. He leans against the wall and shuts his eyes, hoping somehow that may make all the hurt go away. Bailey files out, having shed her gown covered with Derek Shepard's blood.

Mark catches Dr. Webber's eye, which pleads with him to help with a distraught Meredith, and decides to go over there.

"Meredith…" he starts

"NO!" she screams "Go back in there, you can't, you can't!!

"Meredith… MEREDITH!" He catches her frantic movements into his arms and engulfs her into his warm body where she breaks down sobbing, their tears joining as one.

Bailey comes over to her former intern, her heart breaking for her. "Meredith I'm so sorry… we did everything we could, there was just too much damage."

Meredith, still sobbing in Marks arms looks up, woebegone at Bailey and the chief. "I built him a house. We were going to build our house, he was going to tell Rose, I went to therapy to fix myself for him, we were ready to be together how… how…" Meredith gasps for breath.

Christina, seeing Meredith struggling to breathe comes over, rubbing her arm, telling her to breathe.

Bailey, noticing Meredith's increasingly violent struggles for breath as she tries to comprehend the situation, becomes concerned. "Slow down Meredith, you've got to breathe, just slow deep breathes."

This only makes Meredith cry more, thinking back to Derek calming her down in the supply closet ages ago. Her hysterical breathing mixes with her tears as she begins to hyperventilate, Mark's arms essentially holding her body up. The Chief and Bailey exchange worried looks as they consider what to do with the poor girl devastated more by this terrible loss than anyone else.

"Meredith" Bailey starts "if you don't calm down we're going to have to sedate you."

Meredith hears none of this, lost in her own world, replaying the nights events. "How… how, its not… pos pos ible. Der…erk der."

With less and less oxygen reaching her brain, her legs suddenly give way, going momentarily slack. Mark must react fast, catching her before she hits the ground as all hands go to her.

"We need to get her on oxygen, can you bring her into the exam room," the Chief directs towards Mark.

"Yeah," Mark answers gruffly, before easily lifting her fully into his arms and starting off in the direction away from Derek's bloody body. Lying a sobbing and gasping Meredith on the bed, Dr. Bailey reaches for an oxygen mask to cover her face. With tears in her eyes, she attempts to get Meredith to focus and control her breathing.

Meredith sits straight up in bed, gasping for breath, her eyes wide. The movement wakes Dr. Derek Shepard, sleeping beside her. "Mer?" he asks sleepily, unsure at what has caused his beloved girlfriends dramatic awakening.

Staring straight ahead, his voice barely registers, as she attempts to define her reality. Derek sits up, rubs her back slightly and tries to peer into her stricken face, wet with tears.

"Derek. Oh Derek" she sobs, leaning into his chest, holding onto him for dear life.

Derek, still unsure what has caused this early morning wake up, immediately goes into comforting mode, one hand holding her close, the other stroking her hair, whispering into her ear "shh… shh its okay. I've got you Mer, everything is fine. You're okay." Familiar with the nightmares Meredith experienced following her drowning and her mothers death, he knows how to calm her down. Meredith's breathing slows, and she pulls away slightly from Derek in order to look him in the eyes. His heart broke for his gorgeous, tiny girlfriend's soaked face, unshed tears pooled behind her eyes. He pushes a tendril of hair behind her ear. Deciding to wait for her to tell him what happened rather than push her, he kisses her on her forehead. "I love you, you know that right?" Meredith nods and looks into his eyes and starts, her voice wavering "I had a dream… I dreamed you died, you were going to talk to Rose and you died and we never got our happy ending."

Derek stroked her face "oh Mer… you know I would never leave you. I love you so much."

Meredith nudges her head into the wedge created between his body and his arm around her body. Derek continues to stroke her hair, placing soft kisses on the top of her head. After a few minutes Derek starts to move, and asks if Meredith would like a glass of water. "No, I just want you to hold me." They begin to talk about mindless things, when Derek winces, his hand still stinging from the pain of being stabbed with Rose's scalpel. Meredith looks at him, concerned.

"Funny story…." He starts, and he tells Meredith of Rose's joke. Meredith gives him sex to make him feel better, since he is wounded.

The next day at work, eyes bloodshot from a lack of sleep, Mark makes fun of him, accusing him of spending the night doing the horizontal mambo. The next day, after spending a good part of his night coaxing Meredith back to sleep, Derek admits there was no sex- well, at least not all night.

"Trouble in paradise?" Mark questions.

Derek sighs, "No, Meredith keeps having this dream where I die and wakes up sobbing."

Mark looks at him, imploring him with his eyes, informing his oldest friend how creepy that is. Derek insists however, that it is not. Mark teases him, "what, is it endearing?"

Derek smirks "no, I just don't know what to do other than comfort her and reassure her once she wakes up- I mean she keeps dreaming that I die"

Mark thinks about this, "Well," he tells him "wake her up before you die. In her dream, I mean."

The dream happens again the next night- same thing, only this time Derek decides it can't hurt to try Mark's suggestion. As Meredith begins to wrestle in her sleep, obviously perturbed, Derek gently shakes her to wake her up. "Mer, Mer- just a dream, wake up honey." Meredith slowly opens her eyes and see him. "Derek? You're- you're alive."

"I know, it was just a dream honey, nothing happened, I'm still here."

Meredith looks in his eyes "you woke me up- before the bad part, before you died. You saved me."

Derek gives her his trademark smile "you're the love of my life. I'll always show up." They start having sweet, passionate sex.

The next morning when Mark takes note of his still bloodshot eyes, Derek just smiles. "Just the horizontal mambo this time."

_Please review if you have the time! Thanks:)_


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